Bailey to Jones Creek Project

Information You Need About CenterPoint’s Planned Bailey to Jones Creek Project

Texas Condemnation Rights Attorney Philip Hundl describes the route and status of the planned CenterPoint Energy Bailey to Jones Creek Project.  If you’re affected and you’d like to talk with Mr. Hundl, please call 800-266-4870 for an appointment.

Summary of the Bailey to Jones Creek Project Video

– – I’m Philip Hundl, I’m an attorney with Wadler Perches Hundl and Kerlick. Our main office is in Wharton, Texas, Wharton County. We have offices in Fulshear and Richmond, Texas in Fort Bend County, and we have an office in El Campo as well.

I’d like to talk today about a condemnation project that is in process.  It’s a CenterPoint Energy project referred to as the Bailey to Jones Creek Project. CenterPoint is planning to run high-voltage transmission lines from their Bailey Substation in the Lane City, Magnet area of South Wharton County to Jones Creek in Brazoria County.

My legal practice focuses on representation of landowners in condemnation cases, and I think one of the most important things for a landowner to do in a condemnation case is be informed.  Landowners should know what’s going on with the project, and where the project could go and where it won’t go.

So I want to direct those who are interested in the CenterPoint Bailey to Jones Creek Project to be informed, get some more information. A good place to start would be to the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas website (filing search page – http://interchange.puc.texas.gov/ ), the PUC website, do a simple Google search PUC Texas and you’ll find it.

CenterPoint has filed a Certificate for Convenience and Necessity, and it’s  asking the PUC to approve the project so that they can go forward. CenterPoint filed an amendment to their application on September the 17th, 2018, so they filed an amendment to their Certificate of Convenience and Necessity. (for the latest documents, use the filing search page and search for File Control # 48629).

In that filing there’s a lot of information, it’s about 1400 pages long, but there’s five maps in there. I’ll put the maps on my website, but those maps highlight where the alternate routes, or possible routes, of those transmission lines will run. That’ll give you an idea if you have multiple tracts of land, what lands could be affected.

Now, what can a landowner do? A landowner can just stay informed and sit tight, and watch the progress of the process, or they can get involved. There’s a couple ways you can get involved.

I recommend you go on the PUC website, there’s a brochure for Landowners and Transmission Line Cases at the PUC that kind of gives you a summary of the process of a case and the steps of a case.

At this stage of the CenterPoint case, what can a landowner do? You can file a protest, which is basically informal comments to the commission about your thoughts on the project and how it’s going to affect your land, or you can intervene in the case by filing a request to intervene.

Those forms are on the PUC website. It doesn’t require a lawyer to do either one of those actions. Since September, there have probably been twenty to thirty requests to intervene.  There are maybe a dozen or two comments from individuals, entities, and governmental entities that have filed motions to intervene and just to be part of the process.

When you file a motion to intervene, you actually become a party in the administrative process at the PUC. As a party, there’s some rights and responsibilities, and those are laid out in the brochure that I recommend you take a look at. Once again, I’ll put those maps on my website, and that’ll make it easier for you to find those, and you won’t need to dig through 1400 pages of documents, good luck.

Articles Related to Texas Condemnation

• Right of Way Agents
• Landowner Rights in Property Condemnation
• Attorneys’ Fees in Condemnation Cases
• Confidentiality in Property Condemnation

Bailey to Jones Creek Project Maps (Click Each Map to Enlarge)